John Hutton: My predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Des Browne), represented the UK at an informal meeting of EU Defence Ministers held on 1 and 2 October 2008, in Deauville, France. It provided an important opportunity for discussions on EU-led operations, a range of military capability issues and presidency initiatives for "Europe and its citizens".
	In the first session on operations, Javier Solana, the EU high representative for common foreign and security policy, briefed Ministers on the positive start to the EU monitoring mission in Georgia. On Chad, the French presidency sought greater clarity on which EU countries would remain militarily engaged for a post-March 2009 UN follow-on mission. On Bosnia-Herzegovina, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR), General Sir John McColl, briefed Ministers on options for drawing down the current 2,500-strong EU Operation Althea military force. It was agreed that further discussion on possible draw-down and civilianisation would be required at the next EU Defence Ministers' discussion on 10 November. Responding to the growing menace of piracy in the seas off Somalia, Ministers discussed the prospects for an ESDP counter-piracy mission, noting the need for the EU to co-ordinate closely with other actors already in-theatre, notably NATO and combined joint taskforce 150.
	In the two sessions on military capabilities, the French presidency outlined a number of bilateral and multilateral initiatives to improve European military capabilities, in partnership with the European Defence Agency. Des Browne outlined progress on the UK-France helicopter initiative, and some additional funding contributions were announced by Luxembourg and Finland. The Secretary-General of NATO welcomed the initiative and stressed the need for complementarity with NATO's efforts to deliver more operational capability from the large number of European helicopters. Ministers debated the difficulty of generating sufficient forces and reserves for operations such as EUFOR Chad. Des Browne maintained that the battlegroup concept remained valid, but that the UK was ready to engage in a debate about the usability of European forces. He also emphasised that that European defence budgets should be spent on improving capability, not on boosting staff numbers and budgets of Brussels institutions; a theme supported by others.
	In the final session on "Europe and its citizens", Ministers heard presidency proposals for exchanges between European military academies, improved EU co-ordination of non-combatant evacuation operations, and the need for a stock-take on European maritime surveillance arrangements. Javier Solana briefed Ministers on his work to update the European Security Strategy, and expressed his confidence that a draft would be agreed in time for December's European Council.